Piledriver: Violation could halt Lesnar’s momentum

UFC and WWE were riding high for most of the week after Brock Lesnar made his mixed-martial arts return after a five-year hiatus to beat Mark Hunt in an unanimous decision at last Saturday’s “UFC 200” event.

But a possible anti-doping violation has put a damper on last week’s event.

UFC released a statement on Friday saying that “the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has informed Brock Lesnar of a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation stemming from an out-of-competition sample collection on June 28, 2016. “USADA received the testing results from the June 28, 2016 sample collection from the WADA-accredited UCLA Olympic Analytical Laboratory on the evening of July 14, 2016.

“USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, will handle the results management and appropriate adjudication of this case. It is important to note that, under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, there is a full fair legal review process that is afforded to all athletes before any sanctions are imposed.”

The AP obtained copies of three letters from the USADA, informing Lesnar that he passed tests submitted over a nine-day period in mid-June.

USADA spokesperson Ryan Madden told MMAFighting.com that Lesnar passed multiple tests before the June 28 sample came back positive.

Lesnar could be facing a two-year suspension and might have to give back a portion of his reported $2.5 million purse.

Lesnar, in a statement to the Associated Press said “we will get to the bottom of this.”

Hunt a few weeks ago accused Lesnar of being “juiced to the gills.”

Lesnar responded to the allegations on a media conference last week saying, “I’ve been dealing with that my entire life. I’m a white boy, and I’m jacked. Deal with it. What do you want me to say? I’m a white boy, and I’m jacked. Deal with it.”

Hunt has asked the UFC for half of Lesnar’s purse or to be released from his contract.

The news leads to questions on how the WWE will handle the situation.

WWE suspended Roman Reigns for 30 days last month for his first violation of the company’s Wellness Policy.

It was announced days before the UFC event that Lesnar will face Randy Orton at the WWE “SummerSlam” pay-per-view event Aug. 21 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

WWE released this statement:

“Brock Lesnar has not performed for WWE since WrestleMania and is not scheduled to return until Sunday, August 21.”

It’ll be interesting to see how WWE promotes Lesnar going forward and how many TV appearances he’ll make between now and “SummerSlam.”

Big match on ‘RAW’: Before Tuesday’s WWE draft, the “RAW” program has a huge main event Monday on USA.

Dean Ambrose defends the WWE Championship against Seth Rollins, six days before next Sunday’s “Battleground” pay-per-view event.

A triple-threat match is scheduled for next Sunday’s event between Ambrose, Rollins and Reigns for the title.

WWE draft: Like WWE Chairman Vince McMahon used to say during the original roster split, which lasted from 2002-2011, “it’s time to shake things up again.”

The “SmackDown” TV program will begin airing live on Tuesdays, beginning at 7 p.m. this Tuesday on USA.

This week’s program is based on the WWE draft returning, splitting the roster between the “RAW” and “SmackDown” brands.

During the “SmackDown” show, the WWE Network will be airing a “Draft Center” second screen experience.

The WWE Network will also air a “SmackDown” preshow at 6 p.m. Tuesday and a postshow at 9 p.m.